1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of an optical fiber (hereinafter "fiber"). In particular, the invention relates to removing a whipping end from a fiber being wound onto a spool.
2. Technical Background
The use of fiber in the telecommunications industry to transmit data and other types of information is becoming the industry standard. Typically the fiber is coated and wound onto a spool. This is for ease of handling and shipping fiber to a customer.
During the process of winding the fiber onto a spool, the fiber may break or be cut. This break will generate a loose end of fiber, commonly known as a tail or a whip end. Unless properly treated, this end can flail and strike the fiber already on the spool and cause damage. The action of the flailing whip end of the fiber impacting the wound fiber is commonly referred to as whipping. Whipping is a very serious problem as it can damage fiber many layers deep on the spool. The whip end can cause significant and irreversible damage to many layers of fiber. This damage may result in breaks in downstream manufacturing processes, during the fiber cabling process, or even worse, in the field after the fiber is installed in a telecommunications network system.
One particular type of whip damage is "continuous whip." Continuous whip is potentially repetitive impact of the tail upon the fiber on the spool as the spool rotates to a stop. As the tail moves with the spool, the loose end may wrap around nearby objects. As the fiber unwraps, it flails about and can strike the fiber already wound on the spool. This can cause irreversible damage to the wound fiber that significantly degrades the strength of the fiber. The damage can range from punctures in the coating layers to abrasions on the glass portion of the fiber.
Prior responses to minimize continuous whip damage have included the use of guards that completely or nearly completely surround the takeup spool. However, the use of a guard has certain size and space limitations. The use of this type of guard is also prohibited by the need to thread new fiber through the guard.